Further to my previous post, and just to balance the picture, here is a statement from Chris Fiinigan CEO of the BMAA, perhaps we can put this one to bed now too!:
"It is NOT true that Graham Newby told me that the PFA were intending to
> take over Type Approved microlights.
> Nor is it true that he made a statement to me stating that he saw the PFA
> as the only recreational aviation organisation for the future and felt
> that the BMAA should just be left looking after any microlights that were
> not regulated.
>
> While attending the PFA offices to carry out an audit on the NPLG
> licensing system, I was invited to comment, in an informal meeting
> involving PFA Engineering staff and Graham Newby, led by Andrew Moore, on
> their proposal to extend their exposition to cover factory built
> microlights that had first been approved as PFA homebuilt aircraft. My
> comments were that I believed that the BMAA Council would not welcome this
> news, as my perception of their collective view was that microlights were
> our business and only heavier homebuilt and factory approved aircraft were
> the PFA's business. I also said that I would report the meeting to the
> BMAA Chairman as it would need to be discussed at the next BMAA Council
> meeting to confirm that my perception was correct. That formal
> discussion has not yet taken place and so BMAA policy has not changed,
> although clearly BMAA Council members will be formulating their views for
> the debate.
>
> I enjoy a cordial professional relationship with Graham Newby, and we
> "compare notes" on many issues to our mutual advantage.
> Our respective engineering staffs also co-operate on issues that affect us
> both, but we don't "live in each others' pockets".
>
> I was pleased to meet the new PFA Chairman Cliff Mort at the London
> Airshow, where he explained to me his views on taking the PFA forward
> which included, if I remember correctly, making it more of a pilot's
> association like the BMAA. All elected officials have their views which,
> in democratic organisations such as the BMAA and the PFA, are collectively
> debated before becoming policy and should, of course, reflect the majority
> view of the members who elected the officials. Employed staff like
> Graham and I are paid to implement such policy, not to make it.
>
> While I know that in the past there have been proposals for a merger of
> the two organisations, these were firmly rejected by the BMAA membership,
> and I personally (through my regular contacts with many of our membership)
> don't think that such a proposal would gain significant support in the
> forseeable future. Instead we are developing our European voice through
> our membership of the European Microlight Federation, which now has 16
> national microlight representative organisations in membership, as it is
> clear that EASA will pose the biggest challenges that microlight aviation
> will face in the next ten to fifteen years.
>
> I find it unfortunate that bulletin boards and other internet based
> discussion fora allow opinionated but anonymous individuals to inflame
> such debates when they would often do better to reflect in a mature and
> responsible manner before posting. Personally I try never to post
> something in an e-mail or on a bulletin board that I would not be prepared
> to say face to face or put my name to. Freedom of speech has a few
> drawbacks, but a little self-discipline can work wonders!
>
>
> Chris Finnigan
> Chief Executive
> BMAA "